Stuck On You
by ToxiNeena
Summary: Hear me now, obey my command; where we touch, our skin shall brand. Until our love to full blossom grows, we shall follow wherever each other goes. /In which, Natsu and Lucy get a little stuck…literally. NaLu/
1. bibbidi-bobbiti-baffled!

Here we go! I swore I wouldn't start another multi-chapter fic when I already have one in progress, buuuuuut, well, the plot bunnies kinda took the wheel. I just couldn't resist. For those of you who read _Adherence_, this one will be **much** lighter with **much** more NaLu! I do hope that you all enjoy! Be sure to leave a review with your thoughts, good and bad (though, if they are bad, then at least try to be nice about it, yeah?).

Thanks, lovelies!

Kisses to all of you! Now, enjoy...

* * *

_**Stuck on You**_

_Hear me now, obey my command; where we touch, our skin shall brand. Until our love to full blossom grows, we shall follow wherever each other goes._

In which, Natsu and Lucy get a little stuck…literally.

* * *

**bibbidi-bobbiti…baffled!**

* * *

"Natsu! For Mavis's sake, sit down or I'll kick you out," Lucy threatened with a snap, brown eyes darting to her best friend as he danced around the room. Wearing her _underwear_ on top of his head. An indignant shriek left the blonde's mouth, something along the lines of, "_And put my underwear back!_" but, she couldn't be too sure.

She was supposed to be translating this book that Levy had given her. _Supposed to,_ being the key words. Natsu had smashed through her door not ten minutes ago, of course, begging her to go on a mission with him. He'd gone a whole week without a single mission—apparently he was waiting for her to have some free time so they could go together—and was now going through, what Lucy had dubbed, mission-withdrawal. He always got antsy when he went too long without taking a mission, and took any excuse to pick a fight with someone; namely Gray or Gildarts, but sometimes it was Laxus or Gajeel, too.

And, most of the time, that antsy-ness of his drove him to do stupid, stupid things. Like dig through her underwear drawer. How many times had she told him that her panties were _not_ special hats for cats? Plenty of times, more times than she could count.

Did he ever listen to her?

Of course not.

Lucy pinched the bridge of her nose, pushing away the heavy book with a groan.

Her eyes were burning because she'd stayed up all night reading and trying to translate it—Levy claimed that she wanted to add it to her collection, but the solid script mage just couldn't figure out the language; hence why Lucy was translating. Or rather, _attempting_ to translate. So far, she was only half way through, but she was going nowhere, and fast, because Natsu was in the background being an idiot.

Again.

Something clattered to the floor—something that sounded suspiciously like a picture frame.

"Natsu…" she growled over her shoulder at him.

The fire dragonslayer, the underwear thankfully removed from his crown, just laughed at her. His brows lifted suggestively as he plucked up what was indeed a distraught picture from her floorboards, and from where she was, she couldn't tell if it was cracked or not. "C'mon, Luce," he threw the picture on her bed, "save the book for later. I gotta good mission—it'll pay your rent for a few months if we manage to pull it off."

Her ears perked at that.

Rent money—something she always direly needed, even though she went on so many grueling missions. How she managed to be broke all the time was an enigma to her. One figured, with all the jobs she took, that she should have had no problem paying her rent each month. But, of course, life was cruel and she was always scraping together what she needed at the very end of the month.

But, even though she needed the money, her friends came first. Levy, more specifically, came first before anything. Girl code and all that.

She sighed. "Sorry, Natsu, but I can't leave till I finish translating. I promised Levy-chan that I would have it done by the end of tomorrow." Which was why she needed him to either sit down and be quiet, or march his ass back home. Because this particular passage, the one that she was stuck on, she had no idea how to even begin translating.

Most of what she'd translated was gibberish, but this was beyond that. It made no sense whatsoever.

_Audite nunc audi verbum meum, ubi tangit, varius et pellis nostra. Donec crescat nostrae amore pleno flore, sequemurque quocumque vadit invicem._

No sense. At all.

So, understandably, Lucy was very frustrated by this. She considered herself to be very bright—prided herself on her literary skills, and her writing skills, as well as her talent with languages. The fancy school she'd been forced to attend had apparently done her some good with its mandatory language classes. Lucy was fluent in six languages—a feat of which she was sure that no one else in the guild had accomplished. But this book was not written in any of the languages she knew—not all of it, at least.

What made the book so strange was that there were parts of it in other languages. Some of them, Lucy knew and could coherently translate. Others, like the short paragraph she'd been staring at for about a half an hour now, were not languages she comprehended.

"Eeeh, what's so hard about reading a book?" Natsu grumbled as he sauntered over to where she sat at her desk and peered over her shoulder. His green eyes squinted at the text on the page. "What the hell's that?" he asked, taking note of the strange, unfamiliar words with both confusion and abhorrence. He'd never been one for reading—didn't understand the joy some found in it because it was just _words_—but if he had to look at _that_ all day, he was sure he'd go insane.

No wonder Lucy had been a bit snappy today, he thought.

Lucy, said snappy girl, sighed again. "That," she said, "is what I'm trying to translate. Levy-chan wants to translate this book that she found in the library's giveaway pile the other day. She asked me to help her out since I speak a few different languages, but, I've never seen this one…" Her tone suggested that she was more than a little bit frustrated by this.

But, Natsu had already known that. See, when she was frustrated, she had a habit of wrinkling her nose and scrunching her eyebrows—the very look she'd given him just a few moments before when he'd been handling her undies, and the look that she was now giving the innocent, albeit baffling, book on her desk. He was pretty good at reading facial expressions—well, Lucy's facial expressions, anyway, though she was never very secretive about what she was feeling—and he tended to know when she was angry before anyone else.

Whether or not that was because he was usually the object of her wrath was up for debate.

"Hm…" he hummed, only half-interested. "What kind of book is it?"

"Well, it looks like it's an ancient magic book. Spells and that kind of stuff," she replied as her eyes scanned over that same snippet once again. Mavis knew she would only move on until she'd managed to crack it.

Natsu grinned, suddenly very interested in this book. "Spells?" he parroted.

Spells were easy for all magic-wielders. Anyone with magical power could use a spell—they just had to know the right words and back it up with enough magic; compatibility also played a large part. So, a water mage would have great trouble using a spell that dealt with fire, or explosions. Likewise, a fire mage probably wouldn't easily conquer a flooding, or a rainy spell. Finding these spells, though, was the hardest part since the Grand Magic Council had confiscated nearly all the books.

Something about death spells, if Natsu remembered correctly.

Lucy, her eyes on the book, growled at him, "Natsu, I know what you're thinking." She'd heard that tone in his voice when he'd spoken—the excitement and curiosity was undeniable. And the last thing she needed was a curiously-excited Natsu wielding a powerful book of spells; that just made for certain disaster. "No, you can't play with the spells. Some of them might be dangerous," she warned.

He deflated behind her, shoulders sagging. How had she known he was gonna ask to see a few? He hadn't even asked yet! Maybe…maybe she'd used a mind-reading spell. "You some kind of mind-reader?" he asked her in all seriousness.

"What?" Lucy's golden head popped up in bewilderment, her brown eyes alight with what appeared to be both confusion and irritation. Her lips pursed. "No, I'm not a mind-reader. I just know you very well."

_Too_ well for her comfort sometimes. The uncanny way she could predict what he would do next was almost disturbing…which was why she _should have_ seen it coming. She should have _known_ that he was going to ignore her earlier forewarning and make a grab for the book that she was stupidly leaving unguarded. And yet, when he suddenly darted around her side and swiped the book off of her desk with a devious grin, she had the audacity to gasp and gape in shock.

"Natsu! No!" Lucy shouted, jumping out of her chair and knocking it backwards in her hastiness.

She was ignored, however, as the fire dragonslayer quirked his brows and read in broken chunks, "_Audite nunc audi…verbum meum, ubi tangit, varius et pellis nostra… Donec crescat nostrae…amore pleno flore, seq – …sequemurque quocumque vadit invicem…"_ His eyes narrowed in displeasure when, after a moment's pause, seemingly nothing happened.

No big boom, or bang, or explosion. Not even a little bit of smoke. Nothing.

While he was busy being distracted by massive disappointment, the celestial spirit mage took the opportunity to reach up and snatch the thick book away, glaring all the while. "Mavis, Natsu," she cursed. Lucy placed the worn spell book, with its soft, faded cover, on her desk with utter care, like it would shatter if it was dropped or handled too roughly. "Do you _ever_ listen to what I say?" The glare she cast him over her shoulder was sharp.

"Eh?" Natsu cocked his head to the side, rubbing his neck in a completely unapologetic manner. "Of course I listen to you."

He always listened to her… Whether or not he actually did what she told him, or suggested him, to do was another story. But, he _did_ listen.

"Maybe I said something wrong…" he grumbled in reference to the spell that had, more than likely, failed.

"Hopefully," Lucy cut in. "The last thing we need is some strange, unknown spell getting us into trouble. What if it had been a curse? Or a summoning? You can't just read off spells that you don't understand—that's why I'm translating for Levy-chan," she scolded, shaking a finger at him in hopes that he would understand just how dangerous unknown spells could be.

So many things could have gone wrong if he'd succeeded with that spell, she knew. For all she knew, that spell was a death spell. Of course, she also had to give the benefit of the doubt, and realize that there was an equal chance that the spell was harmless—a minor health-related spell. Or maybe one about greenery. Still, the fact that he'd blatantly ignored her warning made her sourer than an over-ripe lemon.

As she sat down in her chair again with a grimace and a glare narrowing her pretty eyes, Natsu chuckled at her, "Oh, c'mon, Luce. Nothing bad happened, right? So it's fine." He placed a reassuring hand on her own while her fingers drummed to some innate rhythm, intending for it to be a gesture of comfort.

Instead, it resulted in a small zap—like he'd been shocked by a live wire.

Lucy felt it too, judging by the sharp intake of breath and the small jump she gave in her seat. "Ouch," she muttered, and frowned up at him. "You shocked me."

The fire dragonslayer only laughed and offered a quick, non-meaningful apology. "Sorry 'bout that. But, hey, let's take a break and go on that mission, huh? C'mon, you can get back to your dusty book of spells later," he insisted with a grin that let his canines jut out and poke his bottom lip in a more than adorable way that never ceased to make Lucy's insides flutter.

Like a charm, it instantly made her cheeks grow hot. She coughed to cover it up, and turned her attention back to said _dusty book of spells_. It wasn't even dusty—she'd dusted it off beforehand, and quite diligently, too. "Sorry, Natsu. I'll go on a mission with you after I finish translating, okay? I promise." She would definitely go on a mission with him later, because, believe it or not, she enjoyed their crazy adventures. Her life revolved around crazy mishaps; as much as she insisted she loathed said craziness, in reality, she really couldn't imagine living without it. "Now, can you…can you please let go of my hand?"

Blinking, Natsu looked down, his neck practically snapping. When he noticed that his hand was still laying over top of hers—his looking bigger, and more tanned, more scarred, and completely enveloping her own—he, too, could feel the heat rising up from the base of his neck and to his cheeks and even up to his ears. It was rare for him to blush, he seldom had occasion to do so, but when he did…the color of his face could usually rivaled that of his hair. Which was why he ducked his head in embarrassment, shielding his eyes and his cheeks from his best friend's penetrating stare.

"Uh, um, yeah. Yeah, sorry," he stuttered, lifting his hand.

And strangely…her hand followed his. Startled, his fingers curled around hers in response. Why would she…? Surely, she wasn't offering to hold hands? That was preposterous. She'd just asked him to let go not ten seconds ago.

As if confirming this, Lucy looked over her shoulder at him, pale face flushed.

"Um... Natsu, you can let go of my hand now," she reiterated, her voice cracking with embarrassment. He was holding her hand so tightly, and their fingers were woven together; surely, a stranger would have thought they were a couple.

Thank Mavis it was only the two of them in her apartment.

Natsu made a strange face, blush dissipating, his lips pulling down into a grimace that Lucy knew well. He shook both of their hands, albeit a little weakly, without receiving the desired result. "Uh... I'm trying. You let go, Luce," he muttered as he yanked his arm backwards.

That, of course, didn't solve the problem. All it managed to do was forcibly tug Lucy up and out of her chair and tumbling into Natsu himself, who stumbled at the sudden, unpredicted weight. She'd crashed directly into his chest, her face smashing into his overcoat and pressing into his thick, muscular pectorals. And still, they were holding hands. If anything, their hands seemed to be squeezing even tighter.

"Ow." Lucy glared up at him from underneath her lashes.

Really, there had been no need to go all he-man and use brute strength to try and pull apart. Upon seeing how close his face was to hers, however—mere inches, within kissing distance—she flushed with both anticipation and excitement, and her anger quickly fizzled out. Like a bonfire smothered by a sudden storm. He really was close... Close enough that all she had to do was lean upwards on the tips of her toes and then their lips would be touching. Her eyes zeroed in on his lips, then, and she couldn't help but wonder if they were soft and firm and warm, like the rest of him.

And then she scolded herself, shaking her head. This was not the time to be thinking about kissing Natsu. He was her partner, her _nakama_; not her boyfriend. She had no business getting so hyped up about the thought of kissing him.

Especially not when they were, for whatever reason, stuck holding hands. Why on Earthland were they…

Oh.

Lucy stiffened, her whole body freezing.

She was stuck holding hands with Natsu… The spell that he'd read… That probably had something to do with it! _Of course_. It'd been stupid of them both to assume that there had been no effect from the magic spell just because they hadn't _seen_ anything. Spells didn't always have a visible reaction. Sometimes, they effected the other senses—scent, sound, taste, and…touch.

"Oi, Lucy…" Natsu began in a strangled voice, matching exactly how she felt on the inside. "What's going on? Why are we…stuck?"

She sighed, stomach dropping to the bottoms of her feet. There was no easy way to say it, no "gentle way" either. She was going to have to be blunt. "The spell," Lucy whispered. "It must have been the spell. Maybe it was a stick-fast spell or something… I've heard those can glue anything together." The blonde paused to gulp before adding, hesitantly, "Permanently."

That proved to be the wrong thing to say, as Natsu's naturally tan face paled a considerable amount. His sable-green, typically narrow, eyes grew wider than she'd ever seen. "Oi, oi… Are you saying that we're stuck like this…forever?" As if to emphasize his panic, he lifted up their conjoined hands and gave them a shake. Seeing that they didn't disconnect made him blanch again. "Luce, hey, please let that be a joke. It's a joke, right?" But, when she didn't answer him—just looked down at her feet like a scolded child—he felt his blood chilling. "It ain't a joke…?"

Lucy shook her head. "No, Natsu… It's not a joke… We're stuck together."

And Mavis only knew how long it would be before they returned to normal. Perhaps never, as scary and daunting as that fact appeared to the both of them. But, Lucy, ever the level-headed one, breathed out calmly and collected herself rather well. This was not the end of the world, she knew. Whether or not _Natsu_ knew that was another story, seeing as he looked like he was about ready to start panicking and blowing things up in his typical way to relieve stress.

"Hey, Natsu," she said, snagging his attention before he could act out on those impulses she knew were rattling around in the back of his head. "Don't worry. There's got to be a way out of this. Where there's spells, there's usually an antidote, or an anti-spell. We just have to find it…"

Yeah…she thought glumly, feeling her heart drop. If the anti-spell or antidote hadn't been in a book confiscated by the Grand Magic Council already…

* * *

**So, yes, it's a little short, but it's just the first chapter, the intro. Typically, I try to make each chapter at least 3,000 words... Anywhoser! Leave your thoughts!**


	2. stuck in a rut

Thank you very much to everyone who reviewed the first chapter! I don't have a specific schedule in which this story will be updated, but I'm not too worried about that. The ideas are fresh and flowing! It's providing a great break for me. Anywhoser, it was brought to my attention that there is a story similar to this here on FF... I assure you that I have no intentions of copying any of said story's ideas and/or plot. Anything that happens to be similar is a coincidence :)

Thank you again for your time! Kisses to all of you! Now enjoy!

* * *

_**Stuck On You**_

_Hear me now, obey my command; where we touch, our skin shall brand. Until our love to full blossom grows, we shall follow wherever each other goes._

In which Natsu and Lucy get a little stuck...literally.

* * *

**stuck in a rut…**

* * *

"Oi, Lucy, you sure we should be doing this?" Natsu hissed into her ear as the two of them hastily stalked down the cobblestone street.

Their hands, of course, were still stuck fast, and in order to cover up the fact that it appeared as though they were willingly holding hands, Lucy had thrown a blue cotton sweater over the issue. Though, in Natsu's opinion, that just invited more gawking than if they had just played it cool. People were less likely to stare at a couple holding hands than they were at two people acting all shady-like, dodging glances like they were bullets…

He'd seen the baker's wife grinning at them on the market street, like the old bat knew exactly what was going on. And if she suspected she knew what was going on, then it wouldn't be long until _everyone_ in town knew—she was a die-hard gossip, her and all of her lady friends that met for their weekly book club thing.

Lucy had noticed the baker's wife too, and she'd turned beet red. Even now, her face was still a little flushed as she looked up at him with a small glare—almost like this thing was _his_ fault… Oh. It kinda was, he supposed.

The blonde snorted while she led them around another turn. "If anyone will know anything about this, it's Levy-chan. I'm hoping she has another spell book that has a possible anti-spell," Lucy murmured lowly, wanting to avoid nosy bystanders who might be listening in, and ducked her head.

The last thing she and Natsu needed were people hounding them about a spell book they'd found. Especially if those people just so happened to be collectors.

"But what if she doesn't?" he challenged seriously. If there wasn't anything that Levy could do, then he didn't know what their other options were… Besides being stuck together for all eternity.

As much as he loved Lucy, he totally didn't want to be glued to her side for every single moment of the future. It'd make missions kinda difficult, first of all, and second of all, how were they supposed to go to the bathroom?

"If she doesn't," Lucy breathed airily, "then we'll find someone who can translate the spell, and then see if we can locate an anti-spell." There _were_ spell book collectors, though they made customers pay outrageous prices to use a spell a single time. When they turned onto Lemon Grove, where Natsu knew Levy's new apartment was located, the celestial spirit mage sighed audibly. "We'll figure this out one way or another," she promised. "And don't worry about Levy-chan; she'll keep this confidential if we ask her to."

Honestly, Natsu wasn't worried about confidentiality. Lucy was the one worried about confidentiality—hence the blue cotton sweater that she'd draped over their interlocked hands.

So he simply shrugged while his friend, and unfortunate partner in disaster, trudged up a few stone steps and glanced around before knocking on a red oaken door. The fire dragonslayer hadn't been to Levy's new apartment yet—she'd moved out of Fairy Hills just a few months before. Lucy had visited countless times already and seemed happy that her best friend was a little bit closer now; though, she looked anything but happy at the moment.

In fact, she was a little jumpy. When the door swung open, she twitched before jerking Natsu to stand directly behind her, hiding their little predicament behind her back. Levy, answering the door, didn't even seem to notice as she smiled brightly at them, golden eyes sparkling.

"Lu-chan!" exclaimed the solid script mage. "I didn't know you were going to stop by. And with Natsu, too." Considering that she was wearing an over-large, olive t-shirt and bunny socks with her hair pulled back by a polka dot bandana, her surprise was obvious. Her blue, ink-scented hair bounced as she stepped to the side, which gave way to another familiar smell.

Steel and darkness.

Before he could stop himself, Natsu blurted, "Gajeel's here?"

There was silence as Levy's bright gaze zipped to meet his own before widening to an impossible size, growing rounder with mortification. Her cheeks flared with color, the red running up to the tips of her tiny ears. "…No," she coughed into her hand after a small pause. "He, um, stopped by for a little while. That's all."

Natsu knew better than that, though. Gajeel had to have spent the night, his scent was all over the place; though it was hardly any of Natsu's business to ask questions and poke around. The iron dragonslayer would undoubtedly find out and then hunt him down, anyway. So, he rightfully let the matter drop, even when Levy reached up to inconspicuously rub the back of her neck, revealing a little red mark on her collarbone.

Lucy noticed it too, as evidenced by the sudden, knowing grin on her face. But, she didn't say anything either. Probably to save her best friend the embarrassment.

"Anyway," Levy hummed, her smile returning, "come on in!" She stepped hastily to the side, hands motioning for Natsu and Lucy to step inside, which they did with Natsu still standing dutifully behind his partner. Levy's golden eyes lifted to Lucy's as she asked, "Did you want me to look at your manuscript again? The last one you brought me was pretty good, but you needed to add a little more detail."

Natsu kicked the door shut behind him before Lucy led him to Levy's kitchen where Levy was fixing herself a cup of hot tea.

Lucy shook her head, blonde hair swishing and brushing Natsu's nose, leaving behind a faint trace of vanilla. She laughed lightly, accepting a cup of tea that Levy handed her. "No, Levy-chan, I'm not here about my manuscript… Though, your tips last time were really appreciated." A little pause settled in and Lucy pursed her lips, suddenly looking a bit embarrassed herself as she rubbed her index finger along the edge of the cup. "We," she started slowly, gesturing to Natsu with the hand that held the tea cup, "may have gotten ourselves into a little…trouble."

"Trouble?" echoed Levy. "What kind of trouble? Did Natsu get arrested for blowing up another restaurant?" she gasped, blinking her big, owlish eyes over the rim of her steaming cup at the fire dragonslayer who scoffed back at her.

"Why do you automatically assume it's my fault?" he asked exasperatedly.

Lucy snorted at him again, rolling her coffee-colored eyes. "Because it usually is," she muttered. "But, no, Levy-chan, he didn't get arrested for blowing anything up. It's more of a…magic-related issue."

"Magic-related issue…" the solid script mage murmured, eyes growing hooded with contemplation. Then, they flashed open and she almost spilled her tea. "Are you having bouts of magic-deficiency, Lu-chan? Because, if so, that's something a doctor or Medicinal Advisor should check out."

"No, no, that's not it either…" Lucy sighed, her shoulders drooping. "You remember that spell book you wanted me to translate?"

Levy's eyes brightened with excitement as she took a sip from her cup. "Oh, yeah. Is it finished?"

"Well…no. That's kinda where our problem comes in…" admitted Lucy. "You see, Natsu here was messing around and recited a spell that I couldn't translate…" Her voice tapered off, light frustration and annoyance evident in the undertone. She closed her eyes and let loose a held breath as she lifted her right arm. "And, well, this is the result."

Natsu stepped to the side as Lucy handed him her cup and grabbed the blue sweater with her left hand, revealing her right hand and Natsu's left hand tangled together, locked intimately.

Levy blinked at the sight. Once, twice, before letting her little jaw drop open with a _pop_. "Oh… Oh, my," she whispered. "I knew you guys would figure out your feelings sooner or later but I never, well, expected it to be _sooner_," she admitted in a low, but pleasantly happy voice. The solid script mage beamed up at her best friend, her smile completely congratulatory.

Seeing it, however, made Lucy blanch. "Uh, Levy-chan… We're not… I mean, Natsu and I aren't…" she stumbled, being unable to find the right words for once.

"We're stuck," Natsu chimed in as he nonchalantly lifted Lucy's cup to his mouth for a taste.

Levy paused and blinked again, this time slower. "Stuck?"

"Stuck," he repeated, face twisting at the herby-taste that flooded his mouth. He'd almost forgotten that he didn't like tea.

"…How stuck?" She lifted a single, fine blue brow and placed her tea on the counter by the stove.

"Well, let's just say that if we don't find an anti-spell or figure something out, Natsu and I are going to be getting pretty cozy in the near future," grumbled the celestial spirit mage of the group. Not that she didn't mind being close to Natsu—especially in the winter time; he was a great portable heater—but being around him all day, every day? For forever?

Even though she loved him, she'd probably throttle him within the first week.

"Oh, Mavis… How did this happen?" Levy inched towards them, taking their entwined hands in her own as if she were trying to inspect them. Her ginger fingers probed, tried to worm their way in between, but neither Lucy's or Natsu's hand would budge. They were truly, very stuck.

"Like I said, it was Natsu's fault." Lucy gently took their hands back, letting them fall between herself and Natsu as she glared up at him.

"Oi, you make everything my fault!" He glared right back down at her, shamrock-green eyes narrowing.

"Because it always is!" she shouted. "I told you not to grab the book, but you did anyway. I told you not to say any of the spells because they could be dangerous, but you did _anyway_. And now we're stuck like this, and you still haven't apologized." Lucy's large chest was heaving at the end of her little rant, drawing Natsu's attention.

Her breasts were a nice sight, he thought, but in her state of mind she would probably bury him alive if she caught him staring. Or, at least she would try to. It didn't look like they'd be doing anything separately for a while now. But, still, he tore his eyes from her chest—even though that thin, black spaghetti-strap top hugged her figure so very sweetly.

"…Sorry, Luce," he murmured, looking down at their hands. "I didn't mean for you to get so angry. I just thought it would be fun, you know?" He really hadn't meant for this to happen… He'd just wanted to go on a mission with her, cheer her up a little or something. "You looked pretty stressed out."

Closing her eyes again, Lucy exhaled, gathering her wits and wishing that Natsu would give her back her tea. "I was stressed out… But now I'm even _more_ stressed out," she admitted. "So, let's just fix this, okay?"

"You're right, Lu-chan. You two should stop playing the blame-game and just focus on trying to fix this…predicament of yours." Levy rarely chastised Lucy, but if and when she did, she was always well within her rights as a best friend to do so. Turning her sights back on her friends' hands, fingers folded together like a loving couple's, Levy's brows lowered. "It looks like a stick-fast spell…"

"That's what I thought, too," Lucy said as she lifted Natsu's hand and her own up for closer inspection on Levy's part.

Observing them again, Levy frowned. "But I don't think it is. With a stick-fast spell, your whole bodies would be "sticky"…" she informed them. But, when they didn't show any signs of comprehension, she added, "You'd be stuck together from head to toe by now."

Natsu grimaced, growing pale.

Thank Mavis it wasn't a stick-fast spell, then… Otherwise, he and Lucy would have been royally screwed. Completely plastered to Lucy…for an undetermined amount of time, maybe forever… While in one sense it almost sounded nice, in another, he realized that there would probably be very little ways for the both of them to survive that.

"So what is it?" he asked.

"…I'm not sure." Levy didn't really like to admit when she was unsure of anything. As the guild's top information gatherer, she was always very sure of her work and her research. "Do you have the spell that you read?" she asked while she fished her reading glasses out of a pair of skimpy shorts that, apparently, she was wearing under that olive-colored t-shirt that smelled suspiciously like a certain iron dragonslayer.

"Right here, this line." Thankfully, Lucy had brought the big book with her, shoving it into one of her ginormous purses. When she pulled it out and flipped to the right page, Levy already had her glasses on and was waiting with her hands outstretched. "I was having trouble translating it; I stayed up all night trying to figure it out." And as if to vouch for that, Lucy released a yawn and arched her back.

_Audite nunc audi verbum meum, ubi tangit, varius et pellis nostra. Donec crescat nostrae amore pleno flore, sequemurque quocumque vadit invicem._

"It's not a language that I've seen before…" declared Levy after having skimmed the short spell a few times. A wrinkle formed in her baby-smooth brow, and her shapely lips pursed thoughtfully. "Though, I'm not as adept with languages as you are, Lu-chan."

"So you probably don't have any anti-spells that might fix this, do you?" Lucy's voice was filled with dismay, as she already knew the answer.

"No, I don't think so…" The solid script mage shook her head, reaching for her tea again. "Stick-fast, maybe. But, like I said, I really don't think that's a stick-fast spell… It looks more complicated than that."

It almost looked like Lucy and Natsu's skins had…melded a little. Making a flawless seem along their palms and fingers. But, it was only on their clasped hands, nowhere else. A stick-fast spell, as she'd said earlier, would have affected the whole body. And there would be a filmy-feeling to their skin, which, from what she'd seen and felt, wasn't present in either of the two.

Natsu, looking paler by the minute, muttered, "So what do we do?"

"We have to find someone to translate the spell first, so we know what it means. Then we can probably track down an anti-spell… Though, if we have to buy it off a collector it'll be super expensive… Around a year's worth of my rent," Lucy groaned aloud.

She worked so hard to save money for her rent…and yet, here was another situation in which she would need to waste that money. A whole year's savings this time! It would take at least ten, handsomely-rewarding missions to cover for that loss… And if she tried to appeal to her landlady again… Bad things would happen, that went without saying.

Some of her clothes would probably go missing. Again.

"That much for a stupid spell?" Natsu's brows pinched together and his lips turned down in a frown.

"A stupid spell got us into this mess in the first place, you moron…" the blonde reminded him sharply and snatched her cup of tea back, finally. "Anyway, the tricky part is going to be finding a translator since we don't know what language this is. I'll have to weed out the legitimate from the scam artists… It might take me weeks, or even months." A crease formed in her forehead as she took a long, needed sip.

"Months?" Natsu's jaw went slack.

Months, she'd said? Months of being stuck together with Lucy? As he'd thought before, on one hand, it didn't sound so bad… They were friends after all, and she did smell nice. But on the other hand… That meant months of no missions…probably no fishing either. And those were two things that Natsu Dragneel simply couldn't live without.

"Wait, Lu-chan, Natsu," Levy interjected before either of them could fall into deeper despair. "I think I might know someone who can help you out. He's overseas right now," she hedged, seeing the hope flare in her friends' eyes, "but he's a book collector I got to know pretty well at the library conventions. He told me he's fluent in at least twelve languages and I know he loves spells… I could write him a letter and ask for his help," she suggested.

Lucy's smile was a mix of relief and gratitude. "Really, Levy-chan? That would be so helpful!"

"I'll be sure to do it tonight!" Levy nodded, bringing her cup of tea to her lips again. "Though, it might take a week or so for the letter to get to him… And another week for him to get back to us," she acknowledged.

Lucy only shrugged. "It's our best option."

It was either send a letter to Levy's acquaintance and possibly be cured within a few weeks, or try to find someone else, pay an ungodly amount of money and possibly be cured within a few _months_. Hopefully, Lucy wouldn't have to spend a year's worth of her rent trying to pay off some over-puffed collector; but, if worst came to worst, then she did have a plan B.

"…So," Natsu began, "what do we do until then?"

"Well… It's probably best to go under the radar," said Lucy as she averted her eyes from his probing, green stare. "Tell the guild that I'm sick with the flu and that you're…fishing. Or something." She coughed awkwardly, taking a quick sip of tea and clearing her throat. "We shouldn't freak them out any more than necessary. The less people that know, the better."

Natsu did suppose she had a point. After all, Gray would never let him hear the end of it if he found out… Neither would Gildarts, the old, lecherous flea-bag.

"So we're staying at my house?"

Lucy paused, looking him over before carefully saying, "…No, we'll stay at my house. I'm paying rent whether I'm actually there or not, so I'd rather take advantage of living in my own apartment." Of course, that wasn't the _only_ reason…

Natsu's house was a pigsty. She'd cleaned it once—in order to _spite_ him; which failed—and it'd taken her all day long. She wasn't going to subject herself to that for weeks on end; especially since his couch in the living room smelled like mold, and the only "bed" he had was a hammock. The last thing Lucy wanted was to be his live-in maid for a couple weeks. At least in her apartment, she could set some ground rules about cleanliness and whatnot.

And she could enforce that he actually put his laundry in the hamper, for once.

"What about Happy?" Natsu said then, interrupting Lucy's thoughts. "He's coming too, right?" He hardly went anywhere without his Exceed companion.

"Well… Natsu, you know Happy. He's a gossip…" Lucy hesitantly murmured. "He'll tell Charle and the whole guild without even meaning to."

And she meant that in the nicest way possible. Happy was a sweet cat when he wanted to be—also a very annoying cat when he wanted to be—but he really did have a problem with keeping his gossip to himself. Plus, he was very, _very_ easy to bribe; everyone in the guild knew that and had exploited it at least once.

"Happy can stay with me," Levy volunteered with a smile. "Charle comes to visit all the time so he'd be more than entertained." She nodded to herself, eyes dipping down to stare at her reflection in her tea cup.

Natsu remained silent.

He didn't like the idea of keeping Happy out of the loop… But, Lucy seemed really freaked out about anyone in the guild knowing that their hands were stuck together. He didn't really get the big hubbub; they were just holding hands, after all. But, Lucy was his best friend and partner… If it really freaked her out that badly, then he'd do what every good friend would do and stand by her.

Even if he didn't completely understand it.

"Thanks, Levy-chan… " Lucy sighed, her whole body softening and letting out the tension that had been trapped in her shoulders for hours. "For everything. You'll… You'll keep this a secret, won't you?" she pleaded suddenly. "Like I said, I don't want anyone at the guild to worry or anything." The blonde bit her lip, seeming to reconsider her words. "Or get the wrong idea."

Levy could only chuckle and offer her best friend a smile. "Sure, what are best friends for? I'll let you know as soon as I get a reply letter."

After Lucy and Natsu left, both feeling a little more content, Levy could only shake her head and take another sip of tea as she sat down on her plush couch. Well, this certainly wasn't how she thought those two would finally be pushed forward, but, what was done was done… For now, anyway.

…She did suppose that letter could wait until the morning. Natsu and Lucy could use the bonding time anyway.

* * *

**Kudos to all who reviewed:** _Guest, kitty-ray, leoslady4ever, Rose, Sameh, Orderinchaos, Deborahpflover, SunsetRika, KawaiiPanda, abbeyabbey, shelbyshoe, shadizsato, KHLostEmpress, DD42, AlchemicGoddess15, naluperfection, pegacorns57, WildestHeart4ever_

Next time! Chapter three: everything i am, i owe to spaghetti...


	3. everything i am, i owe to spaghetti

Thanks for all the feedback, guys! So far, Stuck On You is off to a fairly good start. Most of you had question as to this chapter's title... All I can say is it's a quote from Sophia Loren. She's wonderful. Anyway, I hope that you keep on reading and leaving behind your thoughts! Kisses to you all! Enjoy!

* * *

_**Stuck On You**_

_Hear me now, obey my command; where we touch, our skin shall brand. Until our love to full blossom grows, we shall follow wherever each other goes._

In which, Natsu and Lucy get a little stuck…literally.

* * *

**everything i am, i owe to spaghetti…**

* * *

"Okay, this is how it's going to work," Lucy began, eyeing Natsu seriously as they stood in the archway to her bedroom. "I'm sleeping in my bed, and you're going to sleep right there on the floor." She pointed to the cold, unforgiving wooden floor in the space between her wall and her frilly, pinkified bed.

Natsu grimaced before pegging her with a pleading stare. "Why do I gotta sleep on the floor? We've slept in the same bed before, Luce…" he whined.

Lucy felt her cheeks stinging at the reminder.

Yes, they'd shared a bed a number of times in the past… And she'd actually let him get away with it scotch free once or twice in the wintertime, when her heater was having mechanical issues. He was a human hot water bottle, and he usually kept his hands to himself. So she'd let herself indulge in the pleasantries of having a fire dragonslayer partner; that didn't mean that she'd willingly share her bed with him in the middle of the summer.

Not to mention, she had to keep up the façade that she _didn't_ enjoy letting him spend the night. Otherwise, she'd begin to believe that she did, and then he'd use it to his advantage by showing up even more often…

"That," she said stiffly, tearing herself away from the inner debate, "does not count as sleeping in the same bed. You invade my personal space by crawling into bed with me when I'm _already_ asleep. That's actually called breaking and entering, you know, and it's illegal." Telling him so wouldn't do much good, she realized. He'd continue breaking into her house whether it was illegal or not.

Natsu rolled his eyes. "It ain't illegal if I have a key," he snorted, smartly leaving out that fact that he never actually _used_ said key…

What was the point of going to the front door, he wondered seriously, when he was already at her window? Seemed like a big waste of time to him. Besides, he knew that she appreciated him when it got cold out—she'd snuggle with him in the middle of the night and practically squeeze the life out of him; though, she would always pretend it never happened the following morning.

Lucy blinked at him, her mouth dipping at the corners. "…You know I never actually gave you that key, right?"

Somehow, Mirajane had gotten a copy of her original key, and _she_ had given it to Natsu—and the rest of the team, too. It was pointless trying to confiscate the copies, however, since Mira would just have more made. Lucy had already tried to swipe them all. There had to be at least five copies of her key floating around at that very instant…

Maybe she should get her lock changed, she thought to herself. But, then again, nothing would stop Mira from somehow obtaining a spare key for that lock too, and then Lucy would just be in the same mess all over again. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't win—not against Mirajane, anyway; nobody won against Mirajane. Probably because the barista had connections all over Magnolia, and even Fiore.

"Well you never took it from me, either," Natsu evaded. "So that pretty much means your house is fair game." And her bed too, he added to himself as an afterthought.

Lucy ran her tongue over her teeth, mouth pursing and nose scrunching. Her "annoyed" look, he realized, and it was directed at him. Again. But, instead of hauling off, calling him an idiot, and walking away like she usually did, she just tugged on his hand and jerked him out of her bedroom.

Couldn't very well stalk away from him when their hands were glued together, now could she?

Lucy led Natsu down the short hall to her small, almost closet-sized, laundry room that smelled like fresh cotton and lavender. Different sized piles of clothes were scattered across the carpeted floor like little mole hills, organized in a seemingly random manner.

"Okay, this is how laundry is going to work," she began, aborting the topic of keys and breaking and entering completely. It wasn't an argument she'd be winning anytime soon. "Dirty clothes go in here," she pointed to the ground, "_not_ on the floor of the bathroom or the bedroom. You aren't going to just leave your clothes all over my apartment like you do at your house."

Natsu opened his mouth suddenly, as if to protest.

"My house, my rules," Lucy interjected with a small, knowing glare. "Now, whites go here," she said and nudged a tiny pile to her right with her foot, "and colors go here." She gestured to the larger pile in front of the washing machine. "I don't think you have any clothes or underwear that classify as delicate, so, all you need to know is _don't_ touch those piles over there." The blonde nodded at two stacks across the room, one with nice sweaters and silky tops, and the other…mostly lacy underwear and see-through nighties.

Lingerie, or whatever she called it.

He wouldn't be touching those anytime soon. The last time he'd done so, Lucy had screeched at him and then kicked him. _Lucy-Kicks_ hurt like a son of a bitch, despite the fact that he and the other guys tried to pretend as though they didn't.

Besides, she hardly wore those scrappy excuses for underwear anyway. He could tell by the smell—they didn't smell like her enough; they kinda still smelled like the perfumed store they'd been bought from. If Natsu was going to swipe any of her underwear or clothes—not that he'd be doing that, of course, since she'd yelled at him just earlier that day for doing so—he'd take the stuff she wore on a daily basis. The cotton panties with strawberries on them that she always tried to hide from his sight, or a tank top. Those clothes smelled just like her, and it was comforting…the smell of vanilla.

A sudden gasp from Lucy made him blink. "Natsu, stop staring at my underwear!" she shouted, yanking on his left hand as though she intended to tear away from him. She couldn't, obviously, and he just turned his gaze from the pile to her, taking in the rosy flush to her cheeks and the way her eyes, like melted chocolate, simmered.

How she managed to look so angelic when she was angry or frustrated was beyond him. Most girls looked downright monstrous, like Erza.

"Wh-what are you doing?" Lucy stammered then. "Why are you staring at me now? Is there something on my face?" For a horrifying moment, Lucy thought that she had something stuck in her teeth from lunch, or that she hadn't blended her makeup all the way…

But, Natsu just snorted at her and cracked a grin. Her favorite grin—the one where his cheeks dimpled and his teeth poked his bottom lip. "Nah, it's nothing, Luce. You just smell good, that's all."

Her red face flared, cheeks darkening to an almost cherry red, and even her ears grew pink. She blinked those doe eyes at him, wide and surprised, and her supple mouth parted. "I… Um…" she breathed, swallowing after a short pause. Then, she blinked again, shook her head roughly, and pressed her free hand to her face as if to cool it down. "Don't think that you can just compliment me to get yourself out of trouble… That's not going to work a second time, you know."

Natsu only frowned.

He hadn't been trying to get himself out of trouble by complimenting her, he'd simply been telling the truth. But, whatever, he supposed. Lucy said weird things sometimes when she was stressed out—and Mavis knew how stressed out she was about their little situation.

The blonde, celestial spirit mage coughed and glanced down at the floor. "Anyway, you know how the laundry system works now… Now the kitchen," she said, keeping her eyes low as she once again led him by hand.

Of course, Natsu had been in her house hundreds of times. Her kitchen almost more often than that. He already knew where she kept everything in her kitchen, and even if he didn't, he had an excellent nose.

When Lucy pulled him into her small kitchenette, into the open area with the drawers and cupboards all around them, she rested a hand on her white fridge.

"Fruits and veggies are – "

"In the fridge," Natsu interrupted, much to Lucy's surprise. "Meat, if you have it," and he really, really, hoped she did, "is in the freezer. Herbs and spices are in the cupboards. Knives, forks and spoons are in the drawer right here," he knocked his knuckle against a wooden, pullout drawer close to his hip, "and cups are right above them. Snack foods are in the pantry with the wine," he finished, jerking his head towards the well-stocked pantry in the corner with another grin.

Lucy was silent for a moment, regarding him with an enigmatic expression. Eventually, she sighed, hanging her head, and chuckled exasperatedly, "Should I be surprised that you know my kitchen as well as I do?"

"Nah," Natsu replied with an easy smile. "I'm in here all the time… Remember that time you were sick and I came over to take care of you?"

The blonde nodded, feeling her cheeks heat again. Yeah, she remembered that all right. That had been months ago, when she'd been sick with the flu. She hardly ever got sick, but being on a mission in the snow-smothered mountains had worn down her immune system and she'd gotten the virus almost as soon as she'd returned home.

Natsu had been the one to show up and keep her company for a few days.

"I made you soup and everything," he exclaimed proudly, nearly puffing out his chest. He looked so pleased with himself, as if making soup was one of the finer things in life that he'd accomplished—not saving the country from dragons or anything, just making soup.

He was funny like that.

"Yeah, you did," Lucy murmured and smiled softly to herself.

Granted, it was the worst soup she'd ever had—because, how the hell do you char soup?—but it was also the best she'd had in a long, long time. The last time someone had prepared a meal for her with so much care put into it was back when she'd been living at the Heartfilia Manor. All the chefs and maids had treated her as they would their own children. And though Natsu had failed miserably at his first attempt at making soup, Lucy had eaten all of it.

She'd craved that care… Truth was, she still did.

"You know, I'm still surprised you didn't get the flu too," Lucy said offhandedly after pulling out of her inner thoughts. She didn't want to travel down that road tonight. "I mean, you were up in the mountains too, but you didn't even get the sniffles after staying with me… Now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever seen you get sick," she muttered, mouth turning down.

In all the years that she'd known Natsu, she'd never once seen him succumb to the flu, or a stomach virus. And how fair was that? She was lucky to go a year without having a cold. And when she did get sick, it was always terrible. Most of her pocket money went to buying tissues, chicken stock, and tea bags.

He just had to worry about moving vehicular-type things.

"I'm just lucky like that," the dragonslayer hummed. "Since my body temperature is hotter than normal, I just burn off viruses and stuff. Or, at least, that's what Porlyusica said." He shrugged, lifting his wide shoulders nonchalantly. "It's not like I don't get sick though," he said. "I do, but it only lasts for a few hours to a day."

"Count your blessings," Lucy snorted. "Being stuck with the flu for a week is miserable." Sneezing, coughing, throwing up, and hot flashes for seven straight days was death. "Especially when no one comes to see you…" she couldn't help but murmur almost reverently as her eyes grew hooded.

Watching her carefully, Natsu felt a frown morphing on his face.

He knew that Lucy battled loneliness, knew it was one of her few insecurities. Her greatest fear, despite her insistence that it was spiders, was being alone. After losing her father, that fear had only grown… Like a weed, it had taken root in her heart, and for while she'd clung to their guild like a lifeline—like she'd been afraid she'd loose that too. She'd gotten better at burying it, he could tell, as no one else even suspected anything.

But, he knew her too well. He knew that weed was still thriving somewhere.

"Well, Luce," he began, "it looks like you'll be stuck with me for a while. You won't have to worry about being lonely while I'm here." A grin spread on his face, easy and warm, without a second thought. The need to comfort her was a knee-jerk reaction for him by now.

The blonde blinked at him then, like she seemed to do when she found that she couldn't scrape up a response. Brown eyes softened, gooey, melted chocolate, and her mouth slowly lifted into a small smile. Lucy breathed out. "Who said anything about being lonely, you dork?" she murmured, lips still curving.

_You didn't have to,_ Natsu thought to himself, letting his own smile grow.

Maybe that little moment, with the peace and quiet and soft smiles, would have continued. Maybe they could have gone the rest of the evening like that in contentedness, despite their unfortunate predicament. They would never know, though, because Natsu's stomach greedily snatched up the opportunity to make its desires known with a long, low, rumbling snarl.

The fire dragonslayer jerked his free hand down to his abdomen, resting it lightly over the well-toned, and tan, muscles there with a sheepish grin. "So," he mused, "what's on the menu?"

…

"Okay, hand me the oregano."

Natsu, searching the cabinets above Lucy's golden head, scowled. His nose bunched as the aroma of seasonings and starches assaulted his ultra-sensitive sense of smell and he plucked a random container, holding it up for inspection. "Which one is oregano?" he wondered aloud.

None of the cans or bottles were labeled, which was rather stupid, he thought. How the hell was she supposed to know what was what? He could barely tell the difference between the spices since they'd been in the cabinet for so long that their scents had all but blended together. And he sure as hell didn't want to taste them—some spices could leave their taste on his tongue for _days_.

"You know my kitchen as well as I do, right?" mocked Lucy as she stirred the pot on the stove expertly with one hand.

Rolling his eyes, Natsu lowered the container of green leaves down to Lucy so she could look at them. "Just because I know _where_ everything is doesn't mean I know _what_ everything is," he said smoothly, cracking a grin.

Lucy snorted at him. "Right. And that's barley, by the way. Oregano is cut into little tiny shreds, and it's green."

"Because that helps…" he muttered and put the barley back where he'd found it. His shamrock-colored eyes narrowed with irritation as he brushed his fingertips over the rest of the bottles. "Everything in here is green and shredded."

Without looking up, Lucy sighed and said, "It's in the second row, third from the left." She lifted her hand, spoon still gripped tight with red sauce dripping down its edges, as if to point to the oregano's location.

"Aha!" Natsu snatched the plastic container, turning it over in his palm. Twisting around his blonde companion, oregano clutched in his right hand, he asked, "How much?" and peered curiously into the pot as she continued to stir.

The sauce smelled wonderful, made his mouth practically water. Lucy was a pretty good cook—not that Natsu was very picky about what he ate as long as it was edible and didn't give him indigestion.

Lucy worried her bottom lip almost contemplatively as she glanced at him out of the corners of her eyes. Natsu was a disaster in the kitchen, she knew, and yet here she was having him help her make dinner. Though, it wasn't like she had much of a choice seeing as she could only use her left hand, and spaghetti _was_ pretty hard to mess up…

She sighed again, her hand pausing in its innate rhythm of stirring. "Just a few pinches," she said carefully. "Not too much, not too little."

He nodded, mouth set in concentration as he used his thumb to pop the top of the bottle of oregano. With a flick of his wrist, Natsu turned it upside down directly over the pot and promptly watched as the oregano spilled into the spaghetti sauce. His eyes widened—he hadn't known it would come out so fast.

"Oh! Natsu, no, that's enough," Lucy quickly interjected, dropping her spoon so she could push his hand away. "I said a _pinch_," she berated as she reached into the pot and gingerly scooped out the extra oregano that she could reach without burning her fingers. "Hopefully, it'll still taste fine…" Dumping the shreds of skimmed oregano onto a nearby paper towel, she reached for her spoon and stirred the sauce again a few times before bringing it to her lips for a small sample.

Her tongue darted out, swept along the very edge, and she closed her eyes.

Well, it wasn't completely ruined. The sauce would just be a little…zingy. She had a feeling that Natsu wouldn't really mind; he was hardly picky when it came to food.

With a shrug, and a murmur of, "I think it should be okay…" Lucy dipped the spoon back into the spaghetti sauce.

She would have had Natsu hand her the diced garlic and salt, but the fire dragonslayer was suddenly pressed up against her back, caging her against the stove. Their arms were awkwardly twisted between her back and his chest, though it didn't seem to faze him in the slightest, and he huffed in her ear, "Hey, I wanna taste!" His chin dropped to her shoulder, like he did it all the time. "Lemme taste it too, Luce…" he whined.

"I…what? I mean, what are you doing?" she demanded, face flushing and hand reflexively curling around the spoon.

Her whole body was frozen, knees locking and elbows going rigid, as he slanted her a glance, green eyes dark. "I wanna taste too, Lucy… It's not fair if only you get to taste it. We're both making dinner, right?" Equal division of labor and all…

And he _was_ starving. He was very tempted to just dump the already-prepared noodles into the sauce pot and eat right then and there… But, there were too many potential weapons within Lucy's reach—she'd bludgeon him with something, like a rolling pin, or another pot. The last thing he wanted was to be on her bad side, especially considering the fact that he couldn't really hide from her. Then there was also the fact that he'd undoubtedly feel some smidge of guilt later on for eating everything and not leaving anything for her…

So, he was resigned to practically begging for just a taste. "C'mon, Luce," the fire dragonslayer urged, nudging her with his shoulder.

Said nudge, which happened to be a _little_ harder than he intended, caused her to stumble forward, gasping, and she tried to grab the counter with her only free hand. _Tried_ being the key word… Instead, Lucy wound up slamming her hand onto the handle of the pot, which then, of course, flung upwards... Consequently splattering spaghetti sauce on the ceiling, the tile, and, naturally, both Lucy and Natsu in a wet _sploosh_.

Thankfully, the sauce wasn't boiling hot. Just mildly scalding.

But it was still enough for Lucy to cry out in pain, shock, and utter bewilderment. Natsu only jerked at the feeling of the slimy red paste splooging onto his hair and seeping into the collar of his shirt. He wasn't quite sure what to say, or do, in reaction and it appeared that Lucy was in the same predicament. She only stood there rigidly, blinking down at herself and staring blankly at the once cute outfit—a plaid miniskirt that barely covered her butt, and black spaghetti-strap tank top—smothered in sauce.

Well…shit, Natsu thought, gulping.

If there was one thing that pissed Lucy off, it was having her clothes ruined. The very next thing was getting her house messy. And he'd demolished both those buttons; two birds with one pot of spaghetti sauce.

Sucking in a breath, the fire dragonslayer slowly counted down to his imminent destruction… _Three…two…one…_

"_Natsu!_"

Meltdown ahoy.

Lucy's screech broke at least three octaves, maybe more. Natsu couldn't tell because she was suddenly whirling around, twisting their arms awkwardly again in a sharp yank, and glaring up at him for all she was worth. Her normally soft brown eyes narrowed when he had the audacity to chuckle sheepishly at her and rub the back of his neck with grubby fingers as if to say, "_oops?"_.

"Look what you… Mavis, this is… I can't even…" she huffed in broken chunks, eyes darting from the ceiling, to the floor, and then to her own body as she vainly tried to assess the damage done. And when the sauce dripped from the ceiling, landing on the top of her golden hair, her spine locked and her jaw literally dropped. Voice soft and shaky, she murmured, "…My hair? Mavis, it's in my _hair_!"

"Hey, it's in my hair too, Lucy," he chimed in with a half-smile, trying to ease her temper. But, apparently, that was not the right thing to say, because she was suddenly scowling at him again.

"Don't," she hissed, "try to make me laugh right now. I'm so mad at you…" Her left hand was visibly shaking when she snagged the fabric of his shirt to draw him closer. When he didn't budge, however, she tugged him harder.

She was going to yell at him until she was calm enough to even think about cleaning her kitchen ceiling…and her clothes.

Natsu's firm lips turned down into a worried grimace when he felt his heels beginning to slip on the sloppy tiles. Naturally, he tried to pull away from her, which only made her angrier and yank on his shirt harder. "Oi, Luce," he began in a tone filled with warning, "maybe you shouldn't – "

"Don't argue with me right now." Her small hands were relentless, pulling regardless of the way he slid forward unsteadily. "I'm going to lecture you on proper kitchen etiquette until—_oh!_"

Natsu's legs finally gave out due to the mess on the floor, a safety hazard a voice in the back of his head teased, and he couldn't stop himself from stumbling forward. Right into Lucy. She gasped at the collision, free hand automatically fisting in his shirt—and, thankfully, he had the sense and just enough time to twist to the side so that he was the one who landed on his back with a dull, breath-stealing _thud_.

Lucy sat atop his hips, smooshed into his chest with her head laying in the crevice of his neck, and panting in shock.

He only exhaled in relief.

He wasn't very much taller than Lucy—only a couple of inches or so—but he did weigh more. There was no doubt in his mind that he could easily squash her without meaning to.

Whether or not she knew that, he didn't know. But, he did know that she was struggling to make sense of what happened by the way she simply laid there on his chest, blinking—he could feel her long, thick lashes against the side of his throat like little butterfly wings. Her breathing was steady and calm, even though her heart was thundering erratically like a terribly off-beat drum.

For a while, neither of them said or did anything.

Natsu was terrified to even twitch, thinking that Lucy would fly into another rage. So far he'd ruined her clothes, her kitchen, and tripped her all within a five minute span. He was just really damn unlucky, he thought to himself with a sigh. Maybe if he stayed really, _really_ still she'd forget that she was sitting on top of him…

His hopes were dashed, however, when he felt her breathe against his skin, "Your hand…"

Natsu's brows knitted together in confusion. His hand? That was her first concern? "What about it?" She was holding his hand, yeah, that wasn't exactly new information.

He'd thought that the first thing out of her mouth would be a scolding, or a reprimand, or even a curse. But, no, she was worried about his hand of all things.

"You haven't moved it…"

_Well, yeah, cuz we're kinda stuck together,_ was the initial retort that bubbled up on his tongue. But, then he realized exactly which hand she was talking about… She was talking about his _other_ hand, the one that, for some reason, was cradling the back of her head like it was made out of fragile crystal. He…must have done it instinctually to protect her head from the fall, he told himself as he swallowed a rock-sized lump that was lodged in his throat.

Reluctantly, he let his hand fall away. And Natsu tried to ignore how soft her hair felt—spaghetti sauce and all—when it slipped through his fingers.

Lucy pulled back to look at him then, brown eyes calmer and concerned rather than seething and fuming with anger. "Are you okay? Is your back hurt?" Her hand fluttered over his chest, checking for any injuries. It hadn't been a very soft fall and she knew she wasn't the lightest girl on the block…

_Oh, Mavis, what if I broke his back? _a voice in the back of her head whispered, horrified. If she broke Natsu's back she'd never hear the end of it—specifically from Happy, the damn cat. He'd never let her live it down. And neither would Gray.

Much to her relief, though, Natsu laughed at her. "We're both covered from head to toe in spaghetti sauce…and you're asking me about my back?" His tone was blatantly taunting.

"Oh, well, excuse me for being worried about you," sniffed Lucy. "But we should go get cleaned up… And you better hope that the spaghetti sauce comes out of this skirt. It's one of my favorites." Even though her words were threatening, there was no real intent, Natsu knew.

Every skirt was her _favorite skirt_.

Besides, it was kinda hard to take her threats seriously when she was holding his hand… And…maybe it was just him, but, it seemed like she was holding his hand a little bit tighter. He didn't know what that was supposed to mean, or if she was even doing it on purpose, but…for some reason…he found that he kinda liked it.

* * *

**Kudos to all who reviewed:** _Becca, nessa, Aliali1233-pbg, videogamenerd101, the-clumsy-one, ineptia, Ms Bloodmoon, Mimi-Kiki-Dits, Valimesh, melt0928, RainbowDepression, NatsuDragneel4669, KHLostEmpress, xxtherealbulletxx, Twishadowhunter, Catwho, NyankoSenpai, SunsetRika, NaLuforever48, Sameh_

Next time! Chapter 4: rub-a-dub-dub...bandanas in the tub!


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